I saved the raw yellow onions on the burger for last. I blessed Terry for remembering that I liked extra. I recalled that I’d stopped indulging in them after I started dating Bill.

He’d hated the smell of onions!

I belched as I walked back into the bar. I almost laughed as Sam and Bill were the only ones to look in my direction; however, I managed to pretend as if I hadn’t just made the “unladylike” sound. After all, I wasn’t supposed to know either of them could hear my bodily functions from such a distance.

“Feeling better?” Sam asked me when I approached the bar.

“Much!” I slathered on my “crazy Sookie” grin.

“I took care of your tables while you were on break,” Sam relayed.

“Thanks so much,” I returned sincerely.

He looked at me funny, inhaled, and frowned. Good—he could smell the onions. I usually brushed my teeth if I ate something during my break.

But I was prepared to get fewer tips because of my “onionness” if it also worked as a vampire deterrent.

I noticed that the Rattrays were gone already. Apparently, Bill had felt no need at all to interact with them since I’d not been in the room, which lent a lot of proof to my theory that he’d glamoured them to attack him.

And then me three nights later.

So that Bill could get his blood into me.

But—then again—from our first moments of interaction (the first time around), I’d behaved in a way that would indicate to Bill that I was “different.” Hell—I’d practically gaped and jumped up and down when he’d been silent to me. Thus, to test me for telepathy, the methodical Bill had likely decided at the last minute to use the Rattrays. They were convenient.

But not this time.

I intended to behave differently this time. Whether I was in Heaven, Hell, a dream, or the past—Bill would not be finding out about my telepathy!

I checked on my tables from the back of my section to the front—methodically. When I finally got to Bill, he stared at me as if trying to figure me out.

I smiled broadly, exhaled sharply, and pushed out my chest shamelessly, trying to look like a dumb blonde bimbo—a smelly one. “Can I get you another glass of wine?” I asked, wondering why Sam hadn’t offered Bill a TrueBlood before remembering that the bit we’d gotten after the Great Revelation had expired about a month before Bill showed up.

“No thank you,” he said, glancing at the full glass of wine in front of him.

“How ’bout somethin’ to eat?” I offered as if ignorant of what he was. Taking a cue from Pam, I also exaggerated my accent for effect. “Um—we ain’t got a lot that’ll go with your wine, Mister, but maybe cheese fries?” I suggested.

I got a slight feeling of pleasure as Bill blanched at the thought.

“I hear wine and cheese pair real well,” I went on. “How ’bout nachos? We got some jarred jalapeños that we can put on ’em”

“Just bring me the check,” he said as if nauseated—before catching my eye. “And you will come out to the parking lot to visit with me in ten minutes time,” he added in a low voice.

“The check and a visit,” I nodded mindlessly doing my best impression of a glamour “victim.”

I hurried off, shaking my head as if shaking myself out of a daze. I knew Bill would be watching me. But I also knew that he’d think that his glamour had worked.

I just hoped that the supposed gentleman wouldn’t bite me—wouldn’t notice that I smelled different from other humans. And I also hoped that I could keep my emotions in check. Luckily, even though I felt like I was in the middle of the Sixth Sense—seeing dead people (who were not vampires)—I made myself feel the numbness I’d been carrying with me since the previous day.

Or—the future day.

However one wanted to look at it.

I knew things would be even more difficult once Eric showed up—if he showed up. I almost hoped that he would send Pam, but—knowing him—he’d want an excuse to get away from the boredom of the vermin.

I just had to mentally prepare myself not to jump into his arms the moment I saw him.

EIGHT MINUTES LATER

I’d found the opportunity to eat several more rings of raw onions since Bill had left the restaurant. And a few jalapeños too.

Trying to keep my wits about me, I’d kept a close eye on the clock.

Exactly ten minutes after Bill had ordered me to do so, I stepped out of the back door and into the parking lot as if I were in a stupor.

My shields were all the way down, and—thank God—the Rattrays were nowhere to be found. But I sensed a void. Still, I showed no reaction as Bill came up to me suddenly.

“You are Sookie Stackhouse,” he said, looking me in the eye, once again “capturing me” with his glamour.

I nodded obediently. “Uh-huh.”

“Speak with words,” he ordered impatiently.

Asshole!

“Yes,” I said, exhaling heavily. “I’m Sookie.”

He frowned, clearly noticing the onions and jalapeños. Served the asshole right!

“You are the cousin of Hadley Delahoussaye?” he asked, sounding bored.

Again I nodded in affirmation. “Yes.”

“You will answer ‘yes sir’ or ‘no sir,'” he ordered superiorly.

Huge! Asshole!

I supposed I’d not noticed this on the night I’d originally met him because he was interested in me and, therefore, put on his Southern charm for me. Now I knew how he treated “normal” people.

“Yes sir,” I said dreamily.

“Hadley has conveyed that you can read thoughts. Can you?” he asked.

“Conveyed?” I asked, furrowing my brow as if I didn’t understand the word.

He sighed and rolled his eyes. “Can you read my thoughts, Miss Stackhouse?”

“No sir,” I said truthfully, even as I felt another void approaching. I used all of my strength to keep my emotions in check.

A thud signaled Eric’s landing.

“Why—if it isn’t Bill Compton!” the Viking enthused, looking at Bill and then at me.

I felt my heart quickening. Fuck!

Calm. I needed to stay calm.

Bill looked at me suspiciously, so I pretended to be the stereotypical human amazed by vampire abilities.

“You flew!” I said dumbly—dumbfounded. “That’s not possible.”

“No—it is not,” Bill said, catching my eye again.

“It’s not,” I agreed, “taken in” by his glamour once more. “Are you Superman?” I added, dreamily looking at Eric.

The vampire chuckled, and the sound of it seemed to warm the world. However, I somehow managed to not respond to Eric’s voice—deep, disturbing, and beautiful as it was.

“He is not Superman,” Bill said insistently, after he—once again—caught my eye.

“That is a matter of opinion,” Eric smirked.

Luckily, I’d done a good enough job of getting my emotions in check, or Eric’s presence was distracting Bill. Either way, the younger vampire no longer seemed suspicious of me.

The older one just looked amused.

“Don’t tell me that you are attempting to feed on this poor woman, Billy Boy,” Eric said facetiously. “And against her will too? You know that it is illegal to feed without consent these days,” the Viking added with a smirk that I had to try hard not to smile at.

“I am on assignment for the queen,” Bill said gruffly.

“What assignment would send you to my area without my knowledge of it?” Eric asked coolly.

Thankfully, the two vampires were now ignoring me.

Bill considered what he wanted to say for a few moments, and—when he did speak—it was to protest his “innocence.”

I held back my cringe—with difficulty. Thinking of Hadley with Bill was—yuck! Thinking of Hadley with Eric was—well—unthinkable!

“Hadley—as it turns out—is quite a storyteller,” Bill relayed.

“Oh?” Eric asked.

Bill nodded. “One of her stories was that she had a telepathic cousin—a young woman named Sookie Stackhouse.”

“Not her?!” Eric chuckled, not even looking at me. I will admit that his reaction hurt a little.

But—then again—I did smell like onions.

And jalapeños.

And the lemons I’d just cut—so that I would send the message: “NOT A FAIRY!”

Rather than the signal that I was “vampire-nip.”

I hoped.

“Yes,” Bill responded. “Her,” he said somewhat distastefully.

“And the queen sent you to assess the situation?” Eric asked dispassionately—too dispassionately.

Apparently Bill thought so too; in my estimation, he was wise to look a little afraid.

“I’m sure she didn’t mean to circumvent your authority,” Bill replied quickly. “If the girl proved promising, I was to assert a claim on a descendant’s home in the area and pretend to be mainstreaming in order to conduct further reconnaissance. I would have reported to you at that point—of course.”

Eric didn’t look at Bill so much as he studied him.

Bill wasn’t up for the test.

He shifted on his feet uncomfortably and looked guilty as Hell!

“Of course. So—how goes your assessment?” the Viking asked.

“The girl smells better than the norm—despite stinking of grease, liquor, and horrific human food. But—then again—Hadley smells good too,” Bill commented. “However, I’ve seen no reason to suspect she is anything but ordinary. Under glamour, she just told me that she didn’t read minds.”

“Do you mind if I try questioning her?” Eric asked.

My heart skipped a beat.

I was glad that Bill didn’t seem to notice.

“Of course,” Bill said with a bow. “I’m sure the queen would value your appraisal.”

“Just Hadley’s,” I responded, giggling as if I were stoned, “when we were kids.”

“What do you mean?” Eric probed.

“Jason and me used to play tricks on her,” I said. “He’d find out stuff about her—secrets—and I’d pretend I could hear them from her head. She was real mean to me, so it was fun to mess with her.”

Bill rolled his eyes. “I figured this fucking trip would all be for nothing,” he said with frustration. “Hadley is a fucking simpleton.”

“But a lovely one,” Eric observed. Again, I barely avoided cringing.

Bill’s fangs clicked downward. “I think I will try this human’s blood—before I leave—so that the evening is not a complete waste,” he added.

I wondered if the cluviel dor—or the rules of my “new life”—or the regulations of Merlotte’s Heaven—had kicked in when Sam came outside.

“What the fuck is goin’ on out here?” the shifter demanded with a growl, his eyes flashing to yellow.

“Just a little questioning,” Eric responded smoothly.

“Sook?” Sam asked concerned. I pretended to still be glamoured, of course.

Once again, I thanked God for the overall feeling of numbness that was still lingering in my body—in my soul. The surreal nature of my experience helped too—as did my years of practicing the art of “non-reaction.”

“She is fine. Untasted,” Eric assured, though with a bit of regret in his tone.

“What is going on here?” Sam asked again.

“Mr. Compton was sent to determine whether Sookie was special,” Eric answered calmly.

Eric nodded to him. “Please let Sophie-Anne know that I would be happy to help her in any matter.”

“You could help me with one matter,” Bill said suddenly—as if a light bulb had been turned on in his head.

Uh-Oh.

“What’s that?” Eric asked.

“How did you know I was here?” Bill asked suspiciously.

Uh-Oh.

“I didn’t know,” Eric responded immediately—smoothly. “I knew only that there was a vampire here—thanks to the shifter,” he added, motioning toward Sam. “I have many contacts that keep me fully-informed of the goings-on in my area,” the Viking added with just a touch of menace in his tone.

Eric had lied. I knew that. Sam knew that.

Bill clearly didn’t, however. I found myself wondering how often Bill had been fooled in his vampire life.

Honestly, I intended to be angry at Bill—as soon as I could truly “feel” again. After all, he was a rude asshole, disinterested in me—except that he wanted to taste me. Thinking back, I realized that I’d given myself completely away the first time we’d met.

Betraying how captivated I was by his silent mind.

Acting like a giddy fangirl.

Saving Bill—while wielding a chain—as if I was some kind of redneck superhero.

Bill would have deduced that I was telepathic right away. This time around, I knew that Bill couldn’t—wouldn’t—ever be trusted with that knowledge.

“You ought to release her from your glamour,” Eric told Bill.

Eric had already “freed me” from his own glamour, even as I’d been lost in my thoughts. But—honestly—being spaced out only helped me to appear unaffected by the Viking I loved.

Win-win situation.

Bill released me with a scoff, “instructed” that I was merely on a “break from my duties,” and then took off into the night.

“Leave us for a moment,” Eric told Sam, after he easily glamoured the shifter.

I watched Sam with surprise as he left robotically.

“I didn’t know you could do that,” I whispered to Eric as soon as Sam was inside.

His eyebrow rose sharply. “I’ve never met a shifter or a human who could resist my glamour,” he said playfully.

God—I’d missed this side of him. The one that was full of mischief—full of the joie de vivre.

Full of shit.

“You still haven’t,” I whispered.

He stepped toward me, looking down into my eyes. “You cannot be glamoured. What are you?” he asked with a twinkle in his bright blue eyes.

“I’m a waitress,” I returned somewhat playfully, allowing myself to enjoy being in Eric’s presence again.

I’d missed him so much.

“Are you a psychic?” he asked.

I shook my head. “No.”

“Are you the person Pam spoke to on the phone earlier?”

“Yes,” I answered.

“Are you a telepath—as Bill thought you might be?”

I’d already decided that I needed to throw my lot in with Eric—to tell him the truth about “me.” If I truly had traveled in time, Eric had been responsible for my voyage. Moreover, I’d poisoned myself, so it was quite possible that Eric’s wish and the cluviel dor had—quite literally—saved my life. Saved me from myself.

So I owed him my life.

Again.

Plus—honestly—even if I were crazy or dead, it didn’t matter. I was just glad to have so many people back! I couldn’t even fathom how I was going to react when I saw Gran!

In truth, seeing Eric made me want to crawl out of my skin—and crawl into his skin! But I had to keep reminding myself that he didn’t know me.

So—yes. I was going to tell Eric that I was a telepath. In fact, I planned to tell him everything and then let him decide for himself if I was insane or not.

But I found that I could say only one thing as I looked up into his impossibly blue eyes—eyes I’d thought I would never see again.

“I love you, Eric.”

A/N: Well—what did you think of her last line? LOL. Poor Sookie.

I loved all of your speculations about the vampire who’d entered Merlotte’s. I know that many of you were hoping it was Eric and that he’d remembered along with Sookie. Unfortunately, it was Bill. I know that you are all disappointed that Bill’s not dead yet, but I hope that you are happy with Sookie. If I were her, I wouldn’t have been able to keep it together at seeing Eric. Of course, even though Sookie is beginning to think that “her” Eric’s wish brought her back in time, she’s still trapped somewhat in the surreality of the situation.

Anyway, thanks so much for reading, and I hope that you will comment when you find the time.

I just love a smarter Sookie…eating extra onion rings-that was so so funny!
Loved the line : ” Are you Superman?”.
I’m so anxious to see Eric’s reaction to Sookie’s confession!
Is it Wednesday!?
Jackie69

Well damn! Things were going so well, then brain to mouth filter failure. This is going to be an interesting conversation. I don’t know about Sookie, but my memory is for shit, so she better start writing her previous history down. Those who don’t remember are doomed to repeat…Maybe with Eric’s help she can avoid some of the more painful history, like Maenad attacks. And for the love of God, call Mr. C.

Excellent! Sookie did so well faking out Bill, but blurting out that she loves Eric? I don’t know. There’s always a catch with the cluviel dor… That might come back to bite her in the ass. Great work, ladies!

Loved the onions, nothing says stay away better than eating onions and then breathing on the person in question. I can’t wait to see your do-over for them. Even if Eric doesn’t have memories of what happened, she does. Perfect opportunity to get ahead of the bad before it gets them.

AH…. I can’t believe you ended it there! I hope that Eric doesn’t scoff at her or cut her off before she can tell him about what happened and how he sent her back into time. I love the onions. Although, I have to admit that I was kinda hoping for a bit of butt-head Bill torture. Mwah ha ha. Great chapter though. Please update SUPER soon!

I think Eric does have his memories. He loves her so much. I get that he would give up everything to keep Sookie safe. But, there’s so much that can happen. They need each other to plan.
Love all the onions Sookie ate. LOL Bill is such an ass. I’m glad Sookie told Eric she loves him. As far as she knows she’s dead and just traveling through time. Go for it.

Smarter Sookie is always a joy to read 🙂 I wonder how quick Sam is going to realize that Sookie is acting different now– I also have the feeling we have not seen the last of Bill. However when we see him again I hope it is read about his true death. It will make for some really great reading to see how Sookie will act this time around and what consequences will come about by sending her back for a second chance. If we are all honest everyone has wished for a chance to change something in the past.

Lmbo…a dumb and lil smelly Sookie. Guess, it’s her idea of defenses aganist Bill. That and begin smart enough to notify Eric. And O Eric, if only he remembered. Then,again it’s going be something to see how they fall in love all over again. Even,if it seemslike Sookie, can’t wait since she already spilled the beans. Shoot, hope this isn’t like a ster clear of her for Eric. I hope he just, sees there is something special about her, like before ,and I’m not talking her telepathy . Look forward to more . I especially, look forward to what Sookie’s reunion with Gran will be like. I wonder if she’ll finally confront her in knowing about her true heritage along.

Woohoo for Smart Sookie! I loved her bit with the onions and lemons. Smart, smart girl. Faking the glamour…of course dumbass Beehl fell for it while Eric clearly didn’t, but played along. Hopefully, douchbag Beehl will stay in NOLA and finish crawling up QSA’s butt.

I don’t know how Sookie resisted throwing herself at Eric. I know I would have been blubbering all over him, so I can’t blame her at all for dropping the ILU bomb. I can’t wait to see how Eric will react! 4 days till Wednesday! Four!! Ugh.

Yep, I’d blurt the ILU too. Poor Sookie, in a matter of days her world has taken such drastic turns and she is still handling Bill and her ” Merlotte’s Heaven” with ease and much intelligence, I do hope that Eric has his memories too so they can face Appius, Freyda, Victor and Felipe…unless they can change Sophie Anne’s outcome? I am crazy about time travel fics so I am impatient for the next chapter.

awesome, i think i would have blurted out much more to him in word vomit and jumped him on the spot. but she did good even realizing what a fool she was with the douchesickle Beehl. i think this will be a learning experience for her too. buy i have a feeling we are going to have to wait for her HEA if there is one , because damn she has to tell the Viking what she knows first and he may just snap her neck. KY

It remains to be seen if Eric has his memories, after all, he blatantly lied about who told him Bill was there and knew she wasn’t glamoured. I wonder if SA will turn Hadley and if Sookie will track down Hunter sooner. There’s so many things that they can change, but I’m sure some things are fated and will still happen, regardless. Who’s to say that saving SA, to prevent Felipe’s takeover, won’t mean that Appius will not appear. They could just have a whole different Pandora’s box to work through. Especially knowing that she is related to Niall. I’m pretty sure Eric and Pam will be willing to go Fae hunting.
It’s making my brain hurt, so many characters to think about and their possible fates. I know that whatever you have planned is going to be completely different. I’ll try to be patient. 😆
Blessings

I still had hope that he remembered until he asked what she was. Ah well, I’m sure that things will still be much better now. I love her conversation with Pam, I don’t think I would have had the wits to speak calmly go her and definitely not to Eric. I think I would have jumped at him and professed my love way before she did!

Oh my! Nothing like a sexy Viking flying in to the rescue.
And dear darling Sookie finally using her smarts and experience from hard lessons learned to put that douchebag Compton off the scent. Please kill him with maximum prejudice at some point in this tale.
Looking forward to Eric’s response to the ‘I Love You’ from our gal.

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Many thanks to Seph, who is a wonderful friend and provides so much art to this site!Many thanks to my wonderful and generous Beta! I couldn't do it without you!from Hisviks, the patient owner of BEEHL the cat